Timepiece



Jan. 9, 1934. E T TURNEY 1,943,046

TIMEPIECE Filed Dec. lO, 1932 1H Il INVENTOR faggi/r 27am/fr Patented Jan. 9, 1934 TIMEPIECE Eugene T. Turney, Holmes, N. Y.

Application December 10, 1932 Serial No.,646,585

2 Claims.

This invention relates to timepieces generally and the objects of the invention are to operate such devices electrically, on a minimum of current, such as may be supplied by small dry cells; to keep the current drain so low that ordinary dry cells will serve for operation over long periods, as of several years duration; to provide the mechanism in a simple inexpensive and relative ly rugged form, such as will continue in operation, unattended over long periods of time; and to accomplish with all these advantages, dependable, accurate time-keeping.

The objects mentioned and other desirable purposes are attained by the novel features of con.- struction, combinations and relations of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and broadly covered in the claims.

The drawing illustrates the invention embodied in the form of a clock of more or less conventional appearance, but as this illustration is primarily for purposes of disclosure, it is to be understood that the structure and adaptation of the invention may be widely varied without departure from the true spirit and broad scope of the invention.

Fig. l is a front elevation of a clock structure embodying features of the invention.

Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged vertical sectional views, as on lines 2-2 of Fig. 3 and 3-3 of Fig. 1, respectively.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged and part sectional detail of the drive pawl and contact mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a further enlarged view illustrating the parts in a different position.

The movement or time train consists in the present disclosure of a drive ratchet 7, on shaft 8, carrying a pinion 9, in mesh with gear 10, which. through pinion 1l, drives gear 12, carrying pinion 13, in mesh with gear 14, on the arbor 15, of the minute hand, the reduction for the hour hand sleeve 16, being effected through the customary back gearing 1'7.

The arbor for the pendulum is indicated at 18, journalled in suitable bearings 19, between the plates 20 of the movement frame and this arbor, it will be noted, is located at or adjacent the top of the movement, so as to gain the advantages of a long-swing pendulum within a relatively small clockcase.

The pendulum itself is of novel construction, in that it is in the form of a yoke or frame 21, shown as a rectangle extending in the clear, entirely about the movement and provided at the lower side of the movement with a pendulum rod extension 22. The upper horizontal cross bar of the rectangular pendulum frame is suitably attached to the pendulum tration, by being directly 23, or other radially extending support. This method of mounting lifts arbor 18, in the illus-- connected with a wheel the rectangular pendulum frame to a position where it is substantially centered about the move 2, and where it can without touching it is actuated directly from by means of a drive an arm 26, projecting 27, adjustably fixed on ment frame as in Fig.

swing about the movement at any point.

The drive ratchet at the head of the time train the swinging pendulum 24, pivoted at 25, on pendulum shaft 28. The pawl supporting arm 26 is shown as a spring metal strip secured on the insulating supportat 29 and justable by screw 31. possibility of securing having an offset portion 30, ad-

This adjustment and the the insulating support in different angular relations on the arbor, enable the pawl to be accurately set for driving the ratchet '7. In Fig.

4, it will be seen that the pawl overlies the iatchet at an angle causing it to gravitationally engage the ratchet teeth, thus avoiding any need for spring tension to hold the pawl engaged with the ratchet teeth.

In addition to its function as a is utilized as a circuit controlling device for the electrical portions of the driver, the pawl apparatus. Current is conducted to this pawl in the illustration, through a light spring coil 32, extending from a suitable terminal 33, and secured 34, as by soldering or the like, preferably over directly to the pawl at or adjacent the pivotal support of the pawl. The inside face of the pawl, toward the ratchet is insulated as by means of a thin layer of insulation 35, held in place by of the pawl.

or the like, to ease the This insulation may be hard fiber sliding movement of the the inturned edges 36 pawl back and'forth overthe ratchet teeth. The end of the pawl is left uncovered as indicated at 37, to make circuit closing engagement with the backs of the ratchet teeth The top or outer face of the pawl is shown as insulated at 38, simply to prevent accidental circuit with the adjoining movem or rough handling of the The ratchet is made a part of the control circuit in the present disclosure,

engaged with a collar or hair-spring contact 40,

closing engagement ent post 39, in shipment clock.

by means of a light hub portion 41 on the ratchet shaft. This brush the circuit, avoids any nent through any of the 1'10 being connected in cessity for carrying curre bearings of the movement train. In the case shown, the contact 40 is simply a light spring wire caught beneath the nut 42 on an adjacent movement pillar.

The energy for maintaining the pendulum in oscillation is supplied in the present disclosure by two small ashlight cells 43, removably secured in a suitable holder 44, in the base of the clockcase, engaging at` one end a terminal clip 45, connected wiring 46, with a repulsion coil 47 and engaging at the opposite end a terminal member 48, which may be the end wall of the battery case and which is shown as connected by wiring 49, with the front movement plate at 50, the other side of the circuit through the coil being provided by connection 5l, from the terminal 33 of the flexible pawl connection 32.

The pendulum is polarized to coact with the intermittently energized coil, in this disclosure, by means of a relatively long permanent bar magnet 52, secured transversely in a holder 53, on the lower end of the pendulum stem in line with coil 47. This magnet may be long enough, as shown in 2, to extend within the end of the coil at the center position of the pendulum and the magnet and coil are polarized in opposition, as indicated by the magnet signs.

For regulating purposes, a pendulum weight is indicated at 54, engaged on the lower screw threaded end extension 55 of the pendulum, below the magnet and hence below the point of applied force.

It will be apparent from the foregoing, that as the pawl slips back up over a ratchet tooth, that is upwardly and right-handedly in Fig. 4, on its reti-active stroke, as the pendulum swings toward the left, the insulation 35 on the face of the pawl keeps the circuit open and hence the pendulum swings freely toward the coil. In this movement, the pawl drops back over the end of the tooth and after the pendulum completes this inward swing and starts on its outward stroke away from the coil, the tip of the pawl is brought down in engagement with the next tooth, making solid electrica-l engagement therewith and closing the repulsion circuit through the magnet coil. This circuit may be completed approximately at the center oi the swing, so as to be only of slight duration, that is from approximately the center to the end of the outward swing. In this way. also the impulse is applied in the direction in which the pendulum is then travelling and continued only long enough to make the pendulum reach the true end of its outward stroke. The energy is thus utilized at the most effective time and'used only the minimum time required to effect the necessary results.

A holding pawl is shown in Fig. 4 at 56, acting on the drive ratchet. This may be of the simple gravity type as indicated, so as not to put any special load on the ratchet shaft. The main arbor may be subjected to a light holding friction as by means of a suitable spring brake, such as indicated at 57, Fig. 3.

The pendulum bob 5e, located it is below the magnet is particularly sensitive to control the timing and hence it is operative to keep the timepiece running most accurately. The arching of the pendulum about the movement frame, in addition to increasing the pendulum length, enables the utilization or clock movements of the ordinary or generally standard designs. The shaft 18 of the pendulum, may be the balance staff of such a standard movement, modified to carry the pendulum frame and the shaft 8, which carries the drive ratchet may be the escapement shaft of such a standard movement. The invention therefore enables standard parts to be largely used in conjunction with the new drive mechanism, consisting of the ratchet and the circuit controlling drive pawl, etc. The power is applied through the long lever arm of the pendulum and at the most effective position and direction of movement of the pendulum. There are no bearing loads, such as are always present with spring or weight operated trains. All these features cooperate to assure accuracy and long continued operation with slight expenditure of power.

The pawl in its pushing movement on one tooth fulcrums over the face of the succeeding tooth at the back of the same and hence the end of the pawl is given a slight wiping movement over the tooth it is driving, thus eiecting the cleaning of contact faces on each active stroke of the pawl. The adjustment of the drive pawl in respect to the pendulum arbor serves to eiTect the timng of the repulsion magnet, as well as to mechanically set the pawl in respect to the ratchet. Hence the action both electrical and mechanical is accurately regulatable by means of the pawl adjustments at 28 and 31.

The parts are relatively simple, inexpensive and easily manufactured and assembled and while preferred structures have been illustrated, it will be appreciated that various modifications may be made all within the true intent of the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A timepiece, comprising a time train having a dr'ving ratchet at the head of the same, an oscillating pendulum arbor, a swinging pendulum supported thereby, a laterally extending arm on said arbor, a substantially vertically extending drive pawl pivotally hung from said laterally extending arm in overstanding relation above the ratchet and gravtationally engaging said ratchet, a thin layer of insulation on the face of said pawl toward the ratchet, the lower end edge of said pawl being exposed for downward pushing sliding engagement with the tooth face in front of the same on the downstroke of said pawl, an electromagnet for swinging the pendulum and a momentary energizing circuit for said electromagnet including said endwise engaging pawl and said ratchet.

2. A timepiece, comprising a time train having a driving ratchet at the head of duluin arbor, a swinging pendulum supported thereby, an electromagnetic couple including cooperating elements, one carried by the pendulum and the other controlling means for said coil including a pawl consisting of a substantially vertically disposed light metallic strip overlying the ratchet with its lower end edge gravitationally engaging the backs of the ratchet teeth, the inside face of said pawl strip being surfaced with sheet insulation to slide back over the ratchet teeth on upward retractive strokes of the pawl strip and a laterally extendin#T arm on the pendulum arbor, pivotally supporting the upper end of the pawl strip in the overhung relation described.

EUGENE T. TURNEY.

the same, a penindependently supported, one' of said elements being a magnet coil, a circuit 

